Lateral Ventricle measurements 10.1 and 10.2

I'm not sure I really belong here because my doctor was very clear in stating that at this point our baby does NOT have hydrocephalus, but it seemed like this might be the best place to find other moms and moms-to-be facing similar situations.

I am 27 weeks today and on Wednesday my growth ultrasound revealed that the lateral ventricle measurements were slightly above the normal range. I will go back in 4 weeks for a repeat level II ultrasound. We are just hoping that the measurements won't be any bigger.

From what I've read online it sounds like we have a very good chance of this slightly abnormal measurement being nothing. My OB said not to worry, but of course that's pretty much impossible.

I don't have a specific question, I guess. Did anyone else have similar measurements at this point? Any general thoughts? I'm just trying to stay positive and not stress too much until we learn more at our next appointment.

Comments (23)

I think you have done a good amount of research and you seem to have a great head on your shoulders. My best advice is just to try not to worry. My daughter's ventricles were 70 mm and 32 mm at birth. You're absolutely correct in saying there's a very good chance of this slightly abnormal measurement being nothing. Hugs to you! :)

I agree with hydromommie.....don't stress yourself to much, enjoy your baby and know there are many positive outcomes! My sons 2 vents together measure 94 mm and have been the same since his original diagnosis 9 months ago at age 2 ( his was acquired after birth sometime). Good luck and many prayers for you:-)

Those measurements are so very, very tiny. each mm is 1/10 of 1 cm. If the tech clicks incorrectly, if the baby's head wasn't on the right plane, etc, you can end up with vents that size. Our peri said he doesn't even worry up to the 12-13 range because that is still within the margin of measurement error. Even if the vents are actually that size (ie, the measurement is accurate) if the rest of the ultrasound was clear you have a 97 percent chance of totally normal development. I wouldn't lose sleep over the 3 percent. My guess is that your baby is totally fine.

dkfl29 - My sons left lateral ventricle measured in the "upper limits" of normal at 9.9mm at my 22 week ultrasound (right ventricle was in the normal range at 6mm). At 29 weeks the left ventricle had enlarged to 11.9mm. We then opted to get a fetal MRI to see if there were any other abnormalities in the brain that could not be seen on ultrasound. The results were normal. With isolated mild fetal ventriculomegaly (vents measuring 10mm-12mm with no other abnormalities) the chances of a good outcome are well over 90%. The most common complication is developmental delays which means at this point we are at a wait and see. The neurologist at the MRI told us the enlargement was due to either 1) an increase in cerebrospinal fluid or 2) a loss of brain tissue. The area of my sons brain that was affected (the back portion of his left lateral ventricle) controls muscle tone. Per the neurologist IF there was brain loss and IF he does have any impairments it will be with muscle tone in his right leg which will present itself around 6-9 months of age. The possibilities are really so vast with this. These measurements could just be normal for your baby. I've read posts from other mothers whose measurements have went back down before birth. Check out http://www.i-am-pregnant.com/ click on "pregnancy" and then scroll down and click on "ventriculomegaly". There are a lot of other mothers with vent measurements in line with our babies on that site. I know it's hard not to and I need to try to take my own advice right here - try not to stress. Chances are in your favor (and in mine) that our babies will be just fine. Another interesting piece of info the neurologist gave me - if we didn't have these ultrasound and MRI findings we wouldn't be able to tell the difference between our baby and a "normal" baby. Hard not to wonder how many of us there really are out there with enlarged ventricles. I go for a 33 week ultrasound this Friday to continue to monitor my sons ventricle size. I hope your next ultrasound shows your baby with the same size - if not smaller ventricles. Best of luck to you, your precious baby, and your family!

Thank you everyone for your responses. I am really trying not to worry too much about it right now - there's nothing we can do at this point but be positive and wait and see.

MamaMop - sounds like we are in a similar boat. My OB said he's not concerned unless they go over 11 mm, so we'll see what our ultrasound at 30 weeks says. He didn't say what the next step would be after that, but from what I've read I'm guessing it would be an MRI.

First of all accept my apology for writing your name as your user name, since i donâ€™t have your name!!

Hope you have a wonderful baby. Give my love and blessings to your angel..

My wife had routine checkup 26th week last 2 days back, and the Lateral Ventricle size is recorded as 9mm right and 10.5mm left , when i spoke to my gynecologist doctor she said that there is no cure and if we could have traced it early, i would have suggested you to go for abortion. The word penetrated like a knife and I could not stop my tears.....

However, I decided to consult some of best neurosurgeon and gynecologist for further consultation and treatment, a team of doctor (2 gynecologist and 1 neurosurgeon) discussed my case and suggested that we should observe the reading in every 10 days to keep a check if it is increasing, and also have spoken about shunt process in case it increases.

Since our reading is almost equal on 26 - 27 week, i will be obliged if you can share your further expeirence..Please..

It sounds like you have had a similar experience to mine. My son turned out to be completely healthy and is a thriving, wonderful 9 month old now.

I'm surprised that any doctor would mention abortion based on numbers that are only slightly outside of the normal range. My son's measurement was 10.1 (the other measurement was within the normal range so I do not have it written down, and I have forgotten since it was so long ago). My OB (this was in a perinatology/high-risk practice where they have a lot of experience with abnormalities) said that the upper limit of a "normal" measurement is 10cm, and 11cm is where they really become concerned and begin to look at diagnoses/treatment options. We had it rechecked a month or so later and the measurements were within the normal range.

Do you know if your wife is having a boy? My doctor did say that the ventricle measurements tend to be larger in boys for some reason. Also, my son was 9 lbs 6 oz at birth. I don't know if bigger babies would have bigger measurements, but it could be a connection.

I would try not to panic just yet, stay positive, and hopefully the measurement will either be the same or smaller next time. Best wishes to you and your wife. I'm sorry you've had this scare, but more likely than not this will just be a little bump in the road that you'll hardly remember a year from now.

All of my first son's ventricles measure in the "moderate" range with white matter loss and BESS. He is two now and is a smart little guy. He lives a normal life now, but had a great deal of delay in motor skills. He didn't crawl until he was 11 months, he didn't pull up until 15 months, and he walked with a walker at 20 months and walked on his own at 21 months. He also had low tone in his thoart muscles. This caused us to have some feed problems with him and speech delay. He is saying words now and is starting to feed himself with a spoon. He used to get choaked a lot, but now it's rare. He's doing great.

I am 26 weeks pregnant with our next son. ritamber2job, my son's are measuring in the "moderate" range. My son's are 11.2 mm (left) and 14.1 mm (right). I know how terrifying it can be. I have one son who has been through this and he is doing great. We hope my next will not have a worse case, since we are less than a mm from being hydrocephalus. We were asked if we wanted to abort by not our OB, but a specialist I went to go see once for a level 2 ultrasound. I started crying and said "no." I was thinking about my first son and if I had done that with him (and I never, ever would have), I would have missed out on a beautiful, funny, smart, and loving boy. Your child's measurements are just above normal and they have a chance of going down. My 2 year old is in the "moderate" range and doing great. I hope this helps and makes you feel better. Please, stay strong for you, for your wife, and you kid. If you need anything, let me know. Been there, done that.

Your doctor is an idiot for freaking you out over ventricle sizes of 9 mm and 10.5 mm and using the term "abortion." If there were other abnormalities, I could understand. Those measurements are so damn normal I could punch your doctor. That "0.5 mm" that's an incy weency piece out of the general 10 mm rule is well within the margin of error.

Yes, it's a good idea to keep track of the measurements when they're at the upper limits of normal, but your baby's measurements are currently normal.

I will pray they stay in the normal range of measurement and you have a great outcome.

i'm trying to use my good babycenter manners because I seem to be ticking people off right and left today, but then I decided I really don't care and I'm going to channel my frustration at the medical profession in general toward stupid ob's.

so.

since when was it freaking ok to suggest killing a baby because one of it's vents measured one time as one half of one tenth of one centimeter bigger than normal?

can we inject some common sense into this discussion?

please?

assuming the measurement was completely exact...

THAT IS THE WIDTH OF A SINGLE HUMAN HAIR.

what is freaking wrong with doctors?

that is a big enough deviation from normal to cause ZERO neurological problems.

some people have big vents like angelina jolie has big lips and jimmy durante had a big nose.

97 percent of babies that have ventriculomegaly will have totally normal outcomes.

totally normal.

meaning that for every 100 babies terminated due to slightly enlarged ventricles, 97 of them would have been perfectly healthy.